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Two times so far, I've taken photos that I thought were nothing special, but when I reviewed them, I saw that I had photographed something I hadn't intened - a mysterious figure emerging in the photo. Those instances, for me, are rare but they're possibly the most rewarding part of photography: they remind me that I captured in one split second a special moment that would have otherwise been missed forever - without even realising it! And the funny thing is, in both of these photos the subject wasn't really that interesting to photograph - I had picked up the camera on a complete whim.

Makes me think of how intricate God's work is, that everything - a beam of light or a tiny branch, has a special purpose to serve for someone in the world... sometimes, a purpose as simple and small as making them smile. :)



If you click on the picture above, you can see the full-size, uncropped and barely edited image. I was taking a photo of the column of light (known as a "sun pillar"), but when I uploaded it to my computer, I literally screamed (not in a bad way), because I saw that if you looked at the sun as being a head, the light on the underside of the cloud formed two "wings," and that sun pillar became the body of the figure! I was completely amazed... it was like a little glimpse into heaven with with its angels of light, holding out their wings in a blessing to the earth. I don't really find any "prophetic" meaning in this photo; for me, it isn't a signal of an event about to happen. It's a reminder, rather, of something that has always existed, even before time began, and will keep existing forever: the love of God.

By the way, when I showed the photo to someone else, he told me he could see a swan with its head underwater on the bottom right of the photo. And now that he mentioned it - so can I! It makes me smile every time. :)



I was taking a boring picture of what seemed to be a boring branch on my way home from school, then when I reviewed it, I realised that there was a little number 3 growing out of the main branch. If you follow along the big branch with your eye, you should be able to see it - there's a little leaf sprouting from the '3.' I thought it was a sweet little detail, and I can't wait to uncover more such 'mysteries' as I take more pictures!

Love, Oksana

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And if the Son has set us free
then we shall be
free indeed.

-Jn. 8:36

Took this on my way to school - a happy accident. I didn't take any time to set up the compositon or do anything with it, since I'm actually really self-conscious about taking pictures when other people are around (at least, people I don't know very well). So it was a really fast, spur-of-the-moment shot, but I really like the way this turned out. it says to me that there's nothing that can block you from shining - and if anything tries, shine right through it!

Love, Oksana